Lyveden New Bield

I find Small Red-eyes very addictive at this time of year! During today's 2pm summer finish, I went to Lyveden New Bield, which I rate in Northants top 5 best dragonfly sites. Here I saw hundreds of Small Red-eyes, many egg-laying. Also present were a handful of Four-spotted Chasers, 20+ Emperors, loads of Common Blues and Blue-tails too. A few Brown Hawkers, Ruddy Darters, Emeralds and Azures completed the tally for the afternoon.

Four-spotted Chaser

Male Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Ovipositing pair of Small Red-eyes

Ovipositing pair of Small Red-eyes

Ovipositing pair of Small Red-eyes

Ovipositing pair of Small Red-eyes

Resting Emperor

Ruddy Darter

Small Red-eye Bonanza

At the A14/A6 junction at Burton Latimer, a new warehouse complex is being built. Along with the road diversions and basic infrastructure, a new drainage pond has been built to take run-off. This is the only its second season and I finally made up my mind to visit and see what has colonised this new pond. The pond is accessible and is full of rigid hornwort - the Small Red-eye's favourite plant. Lo and behold, on the water I counted over 100 adults, including 1 emerging and many mating and ovipositing pairs. Water levels are quite low and you can get really close to them - probably the closest I've ever been to this species. There were also three Emperors, including an ovipositing female, a single Brown Hawker, a handful of Common Darters and and egg-laying pair. A couple of Black-tailed Skimmers were perched on the muddy margins with an egg-laying female. A single, old male Emerald Damselfly, small number of Common Blues and egg-laying Blue-tailed Damselflies made up the eight species seen. This is a great little pond, although as is usually the case it will inevitably overgrow over the next few years and change markedly. I was amazed how so many species found this pond, especially as it is so close to a very busy road and roundabout - it just goes to show how well dragonflies can colonise new sites.

Elsewhere in the UK, the rare Southern Migrant Hawker (see me blog on the Canvey Island trip) has invaded the country with records at many new sites in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and far away in Cornwall. It is therefore possible (and likely?) that some have at least flown over Northants. They like dried out ponds and ditches so if you know any like this it may be worth a look.

No Willow Emeralds at Finedon yet, although it wasn't until mid August that they appeared last year. 

Emperor with a wonky leg - present at least two days running

Small Red-eye bomb - three males fighting over a single female

Small Red-eye and friend (plus reflection)

Tandem pair of Small Red-eyes

Mating pair of Small Red-eyes

Mating pair of Small Red-eyes

Small Red-eyes

Our Small Red-eyed Damselflies are doing well so far, with colonies cropping at at new sites. The Weldon colony is growing, although thanks to the exploits of a family of House Sparrows, not quite as fast as expected. I sat watching engrossed as the Sparrows picked off the emergent Damselflies from the water's surface. Luckily I watched many take their maiden flights straight into the trees around the pond, and there were many adults at territory on the water, including an ovipositing pair.

House Sparrow with a beak full of Small Red-eyes

House Sparrow with a beak full of Small Red-eyes

Ovipositing pair of Small Red-eyes

Territorial male Small Red-eyed Damselfly

A trip to Canvey Island, Essex

I've been planning to go to Canvey Island to see the Scarce Emeralds and Southern Migrant Hawkers for several years and when Darryl contacted me with the suggestion that we go on 1 July I jumped at the idea, especially as the Mother-in law was due to visit for the day. We visited the ditch opposite the recycling centre and soon located two of our three target species - Scarce Emeralds and Southern Migrant Hawkers. Our third target species, the Southern Emerald remained elusive. We saw hundreds of the Scarce Emeralds including mating and egg-laying and about 25 Southern Migrants including one take its maiden flight. I collected three exuviae. A great day even though we didn't find the Southern Emeralds.

Southern Migrant Hawker

Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly

Southern Migrant Hawker

Scarce Emerald Damselfly

Tandem pair of Scarce Emerald Damselflies